Four Whitecaps FC players called up to U-18 national team camp

The Canadian Soccer Association announced on Tuesday that Vancouver Whitecaps FC defender Sam Adekugbe, as well as three Whitecaps FC Residency players, have been named to the 18-man roster for an upcoming U-18 men’s camp in Guatemala.

Joining Adekugbe on the roster are goalkeeper Nolan Wirth, defender Jackson Farmer, and midfielder Mitch Piraux. All four players were previously called up to the U-18 Canadian national team in August for the 2013 COTIF U-20 tournament in Spain. Of note, Adekugbe and Farmer were also recently called up to their first senior national team camp in September, with Farmer making his debut against Mauritania on September 8.

The upcoming U-18 camp, that will feature three days of training and two games against Guatemala’s U-18 team, gets underway on Wednesday, October 9 and will end with the second game against Guatemala on Sunday, October 13.

“This will be another important camp for these boys, we will continue to build and reinforce on the identity and quality of play we want to see in our youth national teams,” said coach Phil Dos Santos. “The boys will play two quality international games against a good Central American side [and] they will be exposed to a different environment and challenge. The objective is always for the players to grow and assimilate the behaviours we want them to have as a team."

The players in camp were all born in 1995 and will be eligible for the 2015 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, which will serve as qualifiers for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Included in the squad are players from all four of Canada’s current professional programs, as well as representatives from Canadian universities in Manitoba and Ontario, and players from German and Scottish clubs.

The team will arrive in Guatemala on October 8 and will play the first game on Friday, October 11 in Antigua, Guatemala. The two teams will play again two days later before the team disperses back to their clubs on October 14.